1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holder for eyeglasses and more particularly to an inconspicuous eyeglass holder which is adapted to be pinned on any garment of an eyeglass wearer for pendulously supporting a pair of eyeglass.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Eyeglasses, when not worn, are often carried in a bulk case or a pouch for protection and may be placed in a pocket or handbag. However, when glasses are frequently put on and taken off, it is desirable to have them in a more easily and quickly accessible position. Thus, glasses may be hung in front of the user by an elastic cord encircling the neck and attached to the end portions of each temple piece. That arrangement is somewhat unsatisfactory because the eyeglasses remain open and rest against the chest of the wearer, and with an especially active person, the eyeglasses may swing about excessively and be damaged as well as interfere with or restrict a person's movement. More frequently, people tend to merely fold up their eyeglasses and slip them in a shirt or coat pocket where they may be scratched by other material carried in the pockets or fall out causing possible damage.
Accordingly, eyeglass holders which support the eyeglasses in a safe, accessible, and compact manner have been developed. One such eyeglass holder is U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,384 issued to Arnold. The Arnold patent discloses a wire segment in a double loop configuration which may be pinned to the clothing of an eyeglass wearer. An eyeglass wearer then slides one of the temple sidepieces through both loops to secure the eyeglasses. However, this design presents the same problem as encountered when eyeglasses are left lose in a pocket. That is, when the eyeglass wearer bends over, the eyeglasses have a tendency to fall out causing breakage.
Therefore, a second design which attempts to solve that problem has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,887, issued to Ward, II. The Ward, II patent discloses a pair of interconnected, downward extending fingers used as a clip-on connection to a shirt, coat pocket, or belt formed with an integral loop so that a temple sidepiece of a pair of eyeglasses may be suspended from the loop. Although the single loop design purports to solve the above problem because the pendulous nature of the eyeglass support allows the glasses to assume a substantially downward inclination even though the user bends over, thereby, keeping the eyeglasses from falling out, there still are several design limitations. For example, the clip design for use with only a pocket or belt limits the position and type of clothing where the eyeglass retainer may be used. A dress having no pockets or belt would be a type of clothing incompatible with the clip-on eyeglass retainer. In addition, the front clip portion attached to the loop extends below the loop and can restrict the swing of the glasses as well as cause difficulty when the eyeglasses are placed in or removed from the loop, thereby, reducing accessibility. Thus, the design of the eyeglass holder of the present invention has been advanced to overcome many of the above problems.